According to Reuters, the R-rated movie was rejected by the country's government censors, even after an edited, tamer version of the flick was submitted. The toned-down version of Fifty Shades reportedly cut all nudity and had fewer, less scandalous sex scenes.

Shravan Kumar, the chief executive of India's Central Board of Film Certification, gave no specific reason to Reuters for the film’s exclusion, but did say that Universal Pictures has the option of appealing the ban.

Starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, respectively, Fifty Shades of Grey has already charted $501.2 million at the worldwide box office, despite being banned in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

India's ban comes at a tense time for the country, which has long had trouble handling rape and sexual assault. Earlier this week, BBC ran a chilling interview with a convicted rapist, who was involved in the 2012 gang rape and death of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi.

"A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy," Mukesh Singh reportedly said. "When being raped, she shouldn't fight back. She should just be silent and allow the rape."

Bombay-based comedian Ashish Shakya connected the political climate and the BDSM themes in Fifty Shades of Grey, tweeting, "Fifty Shades banned in India, because why watch a fictional woman being dominated and humiliated when we've got the real deal playing 24/7?"